Car is a Peugeot Boxer camper van (similar to RAM ProMaster in the US), 2011, around 120.000kms. Engine is a ford-type 2.2 litres, 88kW with manual transmission. Also, sorry for the shitty video, it was late at night and I just wanted to document whats going on without the intent of sharing it somewhere at that point. The sound is louder in real life than in the video.
What happened: I passed some small road bump, had the feeling of something heavy swaying downwards or something like that. As if the engine came loose and sank or sth? For the next few kilometers, nothing irregular happened after that, but at some point I got that knocking noise that can also be heard while the engine is still running in the video.
No check engine or other warning light came on, coolant temperature was normal as well, and driving ability and available power from the engine didn’t change in any way, so I went on to drive home a few more kilometers in a careful way. Over time, the noise got louder, the final minutes can be seen in the video. Didn’t dare to start the car again now, because I’m unsure if this could be something serious about engine or transmission, so I didn’t want to risk to make it even worse after driving home. Some facts I gathered before turning off the car:
- The sound was somehow rpm-related, not speed related
- It was there while driving and while standing, so probably not related to wheels etc.
- While the engine was under load, the sound was mostly gone
- First the sound was only there when the clutch wasn’t depressed (also without a gear selected), later also when it was fully depressed (no change anymore because of the clutch).
- While coasting, the sound was different, and more similar to the ignition turn-off sound you can hear in the video at the very end, quite a nasty sound, so I tried to avoid coasting overall.
- Regular level of coolant, slightly low level on oil (but still far from empty). Last one is kinda strange because the car normally doesn’t use a lot of oil, and I got it topped up around 2 months ago.
Engine mounts also look okay-ish, the engine/transmission unit didn’t move (contradicting that feeling I mentioned above) as far as I can tell from my limited knowledge. The total distance driven between the initial road bump and my home is around 7km / 5 miles.
So, how f***ed am I? Did I blow my engine? Would it be safe to try and turn it on again?
Thanks for any advice or thoughts!
Gearbox has exit the chat